How to Improve English Communication Skills?
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How to Improve English Communication: Speaking in English is an important aspect of going to study abroad. While most of us are already good at it, some of us still remain in doubt and looking for the best possible ways to improve our spoken English to improve our day-to-day conversations.
Living and studying in a foreign country requires students to master the local language of that country and in most cases, it is English. For this reason, “How to improve spoken English” remains a prominent question among students aiming to study abroad. While studying abroad, many times students are required to converse with a variety of local residents of the foreign country such as their landlords, servers at a local coffee shop, housekeeping staff, professors and friends from different countries and communities.
This means that the students are also required to understand some different types of pronunciation in their day-to-day lives. Even though we all realise the importance of learning a new language, how far do we actually go and make efforts to learn one? This article is all about tips on improving English communication skills for studying abroad.
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Why is Learning English Important for Communication?
The importance of English language for international students is incomparable and can be understood in the following ways.
- Helps in Aceing the Academic Journey: Many universities abroad use English as the medium of communication among students and teachers. The classes are conducted in English and the required assignments are also preferred in the English language. In that case, a strong hold on the English language ensures you understand lectures, participate in discussions, and complete assignments effectively.
- Understanding the Study Material: Countries which have English as the official language of communication have universities incorporating English as the major medium of communication. Hence, most of the study material including books, research papers, and other library resources are available in English and for that reason, international students must have a good hold on the language.
- Helps in Smooth Integration: Without meeting the language requirement, you cannot integrate with the society, communities and people in a foreign country. Since English serves as a common language in practice among people in their daily conversations, learning this language helps students in many effective ways.
- English Fluency for Career Growth: Students with good English communication skills may find good opportunities to grow their careers by finding several research collaborations, internships and job opportunities.
Check out: Building Communication Skills to Study Abroad
How to Improve Communication Skills in English?
Below are some most effective tricks to improve communication in English.
- Work on improving Your Grammar: Practice improving your sentence structure and make fewer grammatical mistakes. You can do that so by incorporating more and more reading and writing practices in your preparation strategies.
- Build an Impressive Vocabulary: Good vocabulary helps you to articulate your sentences in a better way that not only attracts people but also urges them to know more about you. In that sense, building a strong vocabulary can be good for your career in the long run too.
- Improving English Speaking and Listening: You can improve your English speaking and listening skills by participating in group discussions or picking up conversations in English in your daily life with your friends and acquaintances.
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How to Improve English Fluency?
As successful and effective communication requires the exchange of ideas in a common language; communication in the English language requires one to have a good fluency in it. Fluency in the English language can be honed by mastering all the top core communication skills, i.e. speaking, reading, listening and writing in the language.
However, there is no absolute way to improve your English quickly, as improving your English needs time and practice. So, in this later part of the article, we will talk about how to improve your spoken English, and how to improve your English writing, reading and listening skills.
How to Improve English Speaking Skills?
The first step to learning a new language is to immerse yourself into that language entirely. This means that whatever you do, try to incorporate the use of the English language into that task as more and more use of the language will help you to grasp and retain the lessons effectively. And as you get better at spoken English, try to incorporate better vocabulary into use.
A good vocabulary does not imply that you are good at conversing or speaking English but it helps you to articulate your sentences in a better way that can change the way you interact with people, creating and leaving an everlasting impression on people. Below are some tips on how to improve spoken English.
- Immerse Yourself in the English Language: Watch movies and TV shows, and listen to podcasts, lectures and music (focus on clear pronunciation). Read books, articles, and news in English.
- Shadowing (very powerful English speaking and listening improvement technique): You can use this single trick to fast forward your English speaking and listening practice. This powerful technique involves listening to a short English audio clip and then immediately repeating what you hear, mimicking the intonation and pronunciation as closely as possible. It hones your English listening and speaking skills simultaneously.
- Find Conversation Partners: Be it your friends, colleagues, partners, family or teachers, surround yourself with people who can converse with you in English on a regular basis. Look for online and offline chat groups where you can find native language speakers and new learners as well. People on these chat groups are also on the lookout to get to talk to new language learners like you so you can get good English writing and reading practice from these platforms.
- Remain an Active Participant in Discussions: Enrol in English learning classes and actively participate in debates, presentations and group discussions. Don't be afraid to speak up and make mistakes in front of your peers as learning essentially involves making mistakes. Alongside this, your peers in such classes are also in the learning stage so making mistakes is common, you just have to focus on improving and sharpening your core English communication skills.
- Improve Your English Speaking Skills: As you get along with your spoken English, gradually start improving your speaking skills, control your speech rate (words per minute speed), try to fix a constant rate for your speech, and in a similar way, practice on improving your tone and pitch while speaking English. These aspects of speaking in English are crucial to having a lasting conversation. While, the right speech rate, tone and pitch can also help you to deliver speeches and presentations in front of a large crowd for public speaking.
Also Read: Simple Present Tense
This was all about how to learn English speaking and we have covered all the best ways to improve English. Students going to study abroad can follow this article for the best way to improve English in their day-to-day lives as these tips will come in handy to them while preparing for highly competitive and equally rewarding English tests such as IELTS, TOEFL and PTE for studying abroad. However, if you need more tips on how to improve your English writing skills, follow us for more such articles.
How to Improve English Communication Skills FAQs
Q. How to improve my English speaking skills by myself?
A. There are several ways to improve your English speaking and communication skills, some of them are:
- Find the right partners who help you to speak in English and encourage you to further your English speaking even when you make mistakes in the learning phase. In this process, you get in-depth learning as you learn from your mistakes and constantly work on improving them.
- Immerse yourself in English, whatever you do, be it watching movies, listening to podcasts or audio stories or taking lectures, do it in English. This will help you get good English listening practice so that when you engage in a real conversation in English, you will be able to comprehend what others are saying easily.
- Read more books and write personal notes in English. Reading books rewards you with getting a chance to get introduced to some great vocabulary which will help you to articulate your ideas effectively and impressively.
By doing all this, you can easily learn to speak English easily at home.
Q. How to improve English handwriting?
A. Just like any other skill, mastering good English handwriting requires consistent effort. You need to set aside some time (just a few minutes) daily and do the writing practice to improve your English writing. Here are some additional tips to make your efforts to improve English handwriting more effective:
- Use Resources Online: Search for handwriting tutorials or find guides in libraries, just the way you feel is helping you better.
- Maintain the Letter Size and Slant: While practising handwriting, try to write all letters and words of equal size (height) and the same slant (if you prefer slanting in writing).
- Keep the Speed Slow: When you write too quickly, your handwriting tends to become messy. Slow down and focus on making each letter clear and well-formed.
- Practice Tricky Strokes Separately: If there are some letters and strokes that you find difficult to master on, give them some extra practice.
- Exercise: Exercise and do a little stretching with your fingers if you do too much of the physical work and the handwriting. Exercises will loosen up your hands and fingers, promising better grip and hence, handwriting.
Q. Why my English is not improving?
A. English is a medium of communication and you can master it with consistent practice. However, if you see little or no progress in enough time then, chances are that you are lagging somewhere in your practice tricks. Below are some reasons that may be the reason why your English is not improving.
- Lack of consistent practice.
- Fear of making mistakes: while mistakes are a part of learning, you must not be scared of making mistakes. Making no mistakes may mean that you’re hardly making any progress.
- Unrealistic expectations: be patient while you are in the learning stage. Don't expect to see the results overnight and maintain consistency.
Q. What are the four skills to improve English?
A. The 4 skills in the English language are to listen, read, write and speak properly. A person who has intermediate to advanced level fluency in all 4 or at least any 2 of these skills, may find it easy to communicate with others.
Q: What is IELTS exam all about?
Q: How can I prepare for TOEFL at home?
One searching for TOEFL preparation startegy without taking help of any coachings.
Self-Study Resources: Utilize online platform like ETS, and practice questions and study materials.
Listening Practice: Listen to English podcasts, lectures, and audiobooks to improve comprehension.
Reading Practice: Read academic articles or textbooks to familiarize yourself with academic vocabulary and structure.
Speaking Practice: Record yourself speaking on various topics and review your pronunciation and fluency.
Writing Practice: Write essays and seek feedback form any experts.
Q: What is a good Duolingo score out of 160?
A Duolingo English Test score of 120 or above is generally considered good. However, the best Duolingo score depends on the university requirements to which you are applying.
A score equal to or above 120 often meets the English proficiency requirements of many universities and institutions worldwide. It may be possible that some institutions might have higher requirements.
Q: Is the PTE Academic test easy to crack?
For a candidate who is well versed with the PTE syllabus and who has prepared well for the exam with total sincerity and enthusiasm would be able to crack the PTE Academic test without hurdles.
Q: How long should I study for the TOEFL?
The ideal duration depends on the TOEFL test taker's English proficiency and target score. Generally, dedicating 3-6 months with consistent practice sessions should yield the desired TOEFL scores. TOEFL test takers are further advised to analyze their practice test scores and identify areas needing improvement to tailor their study plan.
Q: Can I pass TOEFL online?
There is no such thing as failing or passing the TOEFL exam. The TOEFL exam is held online at a test centre near you and is also being conducted in the safety of your home via the online method. Candidates who have prepared for the TOEFL would qualify for the exam. Candidates should note that higher TOEFL scores would automatically increase their chances of securing a seat in the university and also make them a front runner for any scholarships being offered by the university. A low TOEFL score would require the student to re-take the exam to improve his/her performance.
Q: How can I practice for the IELTS exam?
After learning the complete format familiarize yourself with all the topics that you need to cover while preparing for the test. You can get online practice tests and make sure to do it while following the time. Prepare for the Listening test by listening to the audio recordings. Similarly, prepare for the Reading and Writing sections accordingly. Make sure you do as much practice as possible in order to get a decent IELTS score.
Q: Is PTE test hard to pass?
No. Candidates should note that the exam has been designed to test the candidates’ English proficiency levels. Hence, a candidate who is well prepared would qualify for the PTE Academic exam with flying colours.
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Conducted by IDP, the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is one of the world’s most popular English language proficiency tests for candidates looking to pursue higher education abroad and global migration. The IELTS exam is available in two formats. The IELTS Academic and the IELTS General.
The IELTS Academic test is designed for candidates looking to pursue higher education across universities and colleges abroad. The IELTS General Test is for candidates who are looking to migrate to an English-speaking country such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the UK among others.
The IELTS exam evaluates the English speaking, writing, listening and reading skills of the candidate. Your total IELTS score will be a combination of the band scores from the four sections. You will receive IELTS scores based on each of the four skills on a band of 1 – 9, and you will also be awarded an overall band score. You can score whole (example 5.0, 6.0, 7.0) or half (example 5.5, 6.5, 7.5) bands in each part of the test.